


Tuesday the 17th

by moomoomeep



Series: I Know, You Know [1]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, Explicit Language, Missing Persons, Multi, Mystery, Summer Camp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-19 09:10:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7354861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moomoomeep/pseuds/moomoomeep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Ed receives a phone call from Winry, he and Roy investigate a series of disappearances at a summer camp just outside of Resembool.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've ALWAYS wanted to write a Psych inspired fic, but I never really felt that I had the right characters to do so until I started rewatching FMA again. I'm super excited about this fic and I really hope that you guys enjoy! 
> 
> Inspired by: Psych season 3, episode 15 (there will be potential spoilers throughout the fic)
> 
> Warnings: none
> 
> Note: Takes place 5 years post Brotherhood
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or Psych

As soon as Ed’s head hits the pillow, the phone downstairs begins ringing. Ed growls lowly with annoyance. Of course the phone couldn’t have rung while he was downstairs moments earlier seeing Roy off for work. No, it _had_ to wait until he dragged his body all the way back upstairs and into bed where he belonged.

Ed sighs heavily, throwing the covers off his body and clambering out of bed before stomping downstairs. He picks up the receiver and opens his mouth, ready to go ballistic on whoever called him so early in the fucking morning when the voice on the other end of the line causes him to pause.

“Winry?”

“Oh! Hey, Ed. I have to be honest, I was expecting Roy to answer the phone.”

“He just left for work about five minutes ago,” Ed says, furrowing his brow as he leans against the hall table and tries to work out Winry’s reason for calling. She never calls this early unless it’s important, but there hasn’t been any indicator in their previous conversations that would cause him any alarm. “Is something wrong? Are you and Granny in trouble?”

“Granny and I are fine, Ed, don’t worry. I’m actually calling about Trina. Do you remember her?”

How could he not? Trina Marsh was one of his, Al, and Winry’s friends from when they were in grade school. She had a wicked intelligence and a sharp wit that got her in trouble more often than anything else. Trina and Winry often clashed heads, but they balance each other out and from what Ed knows, they’re still friends to this day.

“I remember her. She was nice and always snuck extra sweets for Al,” Ed says with a fond smile before he remembers that this is an early morning phone call and not a late evening catch up.

“Yeah, I remember those days,” Winry says before her tone takes on a more serious edge. “Ed, Trina’s gone missing. Her mom called me and said that she didn’t come home last night.”

“What? Did you guys contact the police?”

“We did but because Trina’s twenty, they chalked it up to her being young and refused to do anything until she’s been missing for _at least_ twenty four hours.”

“That’s bullshit!” Ed exclaims before slamming his fist onto the hall table. “The fuck are they doing over there?”

“That’s what we said!” Winry responds before sighing.

Ed racks his brain and tries to think of someone else they could call. “What about Eastern Command? Have you tried them?”

“Ed, if the _local_ police refused to look into it, I highly doubt that the military is going to lend a helping hand,” Winry says and Ed can imagine her shaking her head with frustration. “I called you because I didn’t know what else to do. Other than you and Al, Trina is one of my closest friends and I’m worried that something horrible may have happened to her. Is there any chance that you’d be willing to look into this?”

Ed features soften. “Of course I will. Do you know where Trina was last seen?”

“Camp Chalet. You know where it is right?”

Ed furrows his brow in confusion. Camp Chalet was a sleep away summer camp just outside of Resembool. Ed and Al were going to attend that camp but by the time they were old enough, Ed was a State Alchemist and Al was in the armor. “Yeah, but I thought they closed down after the accident?”

“They did but it was bought out recently by one of “Resembool’s finest,”” Winry says and Ed can hear her accompanying eye roll. “I think they have plans of restoring it to its former glory or something like that. Trina was planning on being a consular there and was scoping out the area when she went missing.”

Ed nods, despite the fact that Winry can’t see the motion. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything. I have to go to Command today, but I’ll try and be on the earliest train East if possible.”

“Thank you, Ed, really,” Winry says and Ed can tell that she’s smiling. “I’ll see you later. Take care.”

“See ya.”

Ed hangs up the phone and runs a hand through his hair, wincing when his fingers get caught in the tangles. He shakes his head and turns to look at the clock before swearing under his breath. At this rate, he’s going to be late for work and if that happens, Roy and Hawkeye will never let him hear the end of it. He legs it up the stairs and into the master bathroom before tearing off his clothes. He showers and dresses in record time before tackling his tangled hair with a comb until he’s able to put it in a ponytail without too much trouble. He runs downstairs and shoves his feet into his shoes before grabbing his keys, wallet, and watch.

Ed throws open the front door and quickly locks it before all but sprinting towards Command. When he arrives at the towering gate, he doesn’t break in his stride. The sentries must have either recognized him or his expression because they wave him through without a word. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Ed has been seen sprinting to make it on time to his shift and it probably won’t be the last (at least until his contract is up in about four months).

He runs through the parade grounds and into the main building, nodding to a few soldiers doing the same thing that he is before he slides to a stop in front of Roy’s door. Ed sighs heavily and takes a few seconds to straighten his appearance before opening the door.

“You’re late, Edward,” Hawkeye says in greeting as soon as Ed steps over the threshold.

Ed sighs inwardly as he steps further into the room and shuts the door behind him before shrugging. He figured this would happen. “I got a little distracted this morning,” he says before taking his usual perch on Falman’s desk.

“Distracted?” Havoc says curiously, spinning in his chair until he’s facing Ed. “How’d you manage to achieve that? Chief’s been here all morning.”

A blush slams onto Ed’s face while Breda snorts into his coffee and Havoc looks all to proud of himself. Ed forces himself to not give in to the bait and instead crosses his arms. “Fuck you—you’re just mad because I get laid more than you.”

Breda laughs outright and Havoc looks completely scandalized.

Before anyone has the chance to do or say anything else, the door to the inner office opens. Those who weren’t working (or half assing it), quickly scramble so they at least look busy as Roy steps out of his office.

Ed feels a warm feeling bubble in his chest when Roy smiles at him. He slides off Falman’s desk and follows Roy into his office without prompting, shutting and locking the door behind him. Before Roy can get too far away, Ed reaches for him and pulls him into a loving kiss, feeling his heart swell and his toes curl as Roy kisses him back.

“Hello, my love.”

“Hey yourself.”

Roy kisses Ed’s lips once more before he lets him go and walks over to his desk. “You know that you were supposed to be in twenty minutes ago right?”

“I was busy,” Ed says nonchalantly before flopping down on the couch.

“Busy?” Roy asks distractedly as he searches for something on his desk.

“Yeah,” Ed says as he turns look at Roy. “You know, if you actually did your paperwork once in a while, then maybe it would be easier for you to find things.”

Roy absently flicks him off and Ed laughs before he rolls onto his side and curls up on the couch. He’s just getting comfortable when Roy makes a triumphant sound and comes to join him. A file is slide under Ed’s nose and he grabs it before sitting up.

“What’s this?” Ed asks while he opens the file and flips through it without actually reading it.

Roy settles down on the couch next to him. “In some cultures, they refer to it as an assignment.”

“Oh _fuck_ you.”

Roy huffs out a laugh. “In all seriousness, there have been a series of disappearances from a camp just outside of Resembool. Now, it doesn’t seem like it’s anything too drastic at first glance and while I could send Breda and Havoc to look into it, I figured that since you’re from the area, you might have a greater insight on this case than we would.”

Ed lowers the file and manages to hold back a sigh. “Lemme guess: these disappearances have been happening at Camp Chalet.”

Roy blinks, looking as if he’s been taken off guard. “These files just arrived on my desk this morning and I know you can’t read that quickly, how did you know?”

Ed tells him about the phone call that he got from Winry not long ago and makes sure that he doesn’t leave out any details.

Roy’s brow furrows with concern and he shakes his head when Ed finishes speaking. “That’s a coincidence if I ever heard of one.”

Ed snorts. “I guess that’s one way of putting it,” he says before turning back to the case files and actually taking the time to read them thoroughly.

He discovers that ever since the camp closed down, teens and young adults would go into the area to smoke, drink, fuck, and get into any sort of trouble. Since the disappearances started, there have been no unusual sightings in the area (at least none that have been recorded) and from what it says here, all of the victims appear to have been alone when they’ve vanished. It also doesn’t help that because the victims are so young, the police are under the assumption that they got tired of living in a small country town and decided to run away to the big city.

At first glance, Ed doesn’t suspect foul play or any alchemists gone wild, but he’ll be able to better pin down exactly what’s going on as soon as he’s able to search the area. He closes the file and turns back to Roy, who’s watching him expectantly. “I already told Winry that I was going to help find Trina, so I may as well look into this while we’re there.”

Roy nods and leans forward, wrapping his arm around Ed’s shoulders and kissing the top of his head. Ed sighs and sets the file aside so he can fully turn into Roy’s embrace.

“I love you, Ed. Be careful when you go okay?”

Ed frowns before raising his head from Roy’s shoulder. “You’re coming too.”

Roy looks amused. “Oh am I?”

“Yeah. You’re not gonna let me go on my own when people _my age_ are the ones that are disappearing, are you?”

“Ed, I’m sure that you’ve faced down much worse before and you’ll have Al with you so you don’t need me,” Roy says. He tries to pull away and frowns when Ed won’t let him go. “I’m a General, love, and you know that I have a ton of work to do.”

“Yeah, work that you’ll be avoiding for the rest of the day. Besides, Al’s not coming. Finals are next week and I don’t want him to miss any of his studies. If this could wait until he was done, then I wouldn’t be asking, but time is of the essence and we can still make the last mid morning train if we leave soon,” Ed says after sparing a quick glance at his watch. He looks up at Roy and racks his brain trying to think of a way to convince him to go when an idea pops into his head. He shifts so he can wrap his arms around Roy’s neck and pull him closer.

Roy looks pleased by this development and leans in to kiss him. Ed holds him back right before their lips touch and can’t help but shiver when Roy emits a soft whine at being denied a kiss. Normally, a whine like that would cause Ed to give in, but this time, he has a plan

“You know, I _could_ go on my own to complete this assignment,” Ed says, his lips brushing against Roy’s with every word. “At least then, I’ll be out of the line of fire when Al finds out that I was left to my own devises.”

Roy’s entire body tenses and Ed barely manages to stop himself from smirking. He’s knows it’s a dirty trick, but a necessary one. While he honestly wouldn’t mind going on this assignment by himself or taking one of the guys with him, he would feel much more secure and comfortable if he had Roy or Al with him.

Roy eventually sighs and nuzzles Ed’s nose. “I don’t know whether I should be turned on or terrified at you using my own tactics against me.”

“Why not both?” Ed asks. He closes the distance between them and captures Roy’s lips, but they barely get the chance to get into it before there’s a hard knock on the door.

“Sir,” Hawkeye says without entering. “I know that you like to go to great lengths to get out of your assignments, but I’d prefer it if you didn’t lock me out of your office.”

Ed snorts. “Whoops. Habit,” he adds after Roy gives him a curious glance.

Roy shakes his head fondly before clearing his throat. “Sorry Lieutenant, it won’t happen again. Is there something you need?”

“Yes sir. Three more boxes of files have just arrived that require your attention.”

“ _Fuck_ ,” Roy mutters under his breath even though Hawkeye can’t hear him. Louder, he says, “I’ll have to take those to go. Apparently, I’m accompanying Ed on his assignment.”

Hawkeye is silent for a long moment. “Very well, sir. Do you need a car or train?”

“Yes,” Roy says.

Ed snorts and Roy looks as if he wants to melt into the carpet.

“We’ll need a train to Resembool—the earlier the better. We’ll fill you in once we get there,” Ed says, even though it’s more than likely that Hawkeye will be able to narrow down which assignment they’re going on based on their destination and learn of the details herself.

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do,” Hawkeye says.

When her footsteps fade away, Ed grins and looks up at Roy. “Yes?” he questions.

“Shut up,” Roy says with a huff. “You’re lucky that I love you.”

“You’re just mad because I won.”

“If we’re being technical, then Alphonse won. I don’t even want to begin to imagine what he’ll do to me if he learns I let you run off by yourself.”

Ed blows out a breath and waves his hand around absently. “Details, details,” he says before he lays his head back on Roy’s shoulder and settles in. “So, when are we gonna head out.”

Roy kisses the top of Ed’s head. “As soon as you let me up.”

Ed opens his mouth to speak and hesitates. While he knows that he and Roy need to leave as soon as they can so they can pack and make their train on time, but he’s warm, comfortable, and content to stay in Roy’s arms for the rest of the day.

“Well, this is a predicament,” Ed says with a sigh.

He ultimately decides not to move and they nearly miss their train as a result.

Ed collapses onto one of the seats in their private car and tries to catch his breath while Roy stores their luggage in the overhead compartment. He blows out a breath and flinches when Roy drops the file containing his assignment onto his stomach before settling in the seat across from him with some paperwork in his lap.

Realizing that Roy isn’t going to be much for conversation for a while, Ed grabs the assignment before rolling onto his stomach and cracking it open. He scans the document looking for any details he may have missed when he realizes he forgot something.

“ _Shit_! I forgot to call Al and Winry to let them know what was going on,” Ed says, resisting the urge to face palm at his stupidity.

“I’m sure that Riza will take of it, Ed,” Roy says without looking up from his work. “She’s good at remembering things that we tend to forget.”

Ed thinks it over for a moment and nods as a response, knowing that Roy’s words hold true. He turns back to his assignment and settles in for the long ride to Resembool.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the kudos and comments! It means the world! 
> 
> Warnings: none

“Ed? Ed, love, wake up.”

Ed hums and shifts before opening his eyes and blinking against the light from the strong summer sun. “Roy?”

“I’m here,” Roy says before smoothing back Ed’s hair and placing a kiss on his forehead. “We just arrived at the station.”

Ed yawns in lieu of a response and sits up before stretching out his muscles after sleeping on the cramped seat for so long. “What time is it?”

“It’s half past six in the evening,” Roy answers as he pulls down their luggage. He must have changed out of his uniform sometime while Ed was passed out since he’s now wearing a casual button up shirt and slacks.

“Six already?” Ed asks while he rubs away the sleep from his eyes. “Have I been out the whole time?”

“For the most part. I didn’t even realize you fell asleep until you started snoring.”

Ed scowls. “I don’t snore,” he mumbles to himself. He quickly gathers up his files and hands them to Roy before grabbing his suitcase and leading the way off the train. “So, what’s next on the agenda?”

“Well, I was thinking that we should check into a hotel and get something to eat before heading to the camp,” Roy says as they step onto the platform and begin mingling with the evening rush. “We should also look into acquiring a car and—”

“Ed, Roy! Over here!”

Ed turns at the sound of his name and is surprised to find Winry walking towards them. “Hey, Winry. I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” he says with a smile.

“Riza told me what happened,” Winry says before sighing. “Honestly, Ed? You couldn’t even phone me yourself?”

“Hey, in my defense, we almost missed our fucking train. Pardon me for not being able to spare a few minutes to call.”

“And I can almost bet whose fault that is! You know, I’m surprised you haven’t learned a thing or two about time management after being with Roy for so long.”

“Who needs time management when you have Riza Hawkeye? She’s a fucking legend at planning and coordinating.”

Roy snorts and Winry turns her head to glare at him as she leads them out of the station and into the parking lot.

“He’s not wrong, you know,” Roy says in his defense. “Everything I know about time management, I learned from her.”

“Oh yeah?” Ed questions, turning his head so he can look at Roy with a raised eyebrow. “And where are those skills when it comes to managing your work load?”

Roy narrows his eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. Would you care to repeat it for me, _hon_?”

“Huh, lazy _and_ hard of hearing. Is your age finally catching up to you, _dear_?”

Roy grits his teeth. “You little—”

“ _Little_?”

“I found the car!” Winry yells from somewhere to his right.

Ed turns his attention away from Roy and spots Winry a good distance away from them standing next to a black civilian car. He walks towards Winry and feels Roy fall into step next to him.

“You guys finished with your lover’s spat?” Winry asks once they’re within earshot.

She’s wearing a cheeky grin and seeing it pisses Ed off.

“It wasn’t a spat, Winry, it was a _mild disagreement_ ,” Ed says with a scowl.

“Oh? I’m sorry. Are you finished with your mild disagreement?”

Ed sighs heavily, not wanting to get into this argument.

Winry laughs like she won and climbs into the driver’s seat before starting the car. Roy places his suitcase in the backseat before sliding into the passenger’s seat, which leaves Ed to set his suitcase next to Roy’s and take the remaining spot in the backseat behind Winry.

Once Ed slides on his seatbelt, Winry puts the car in gear and leaves the station parking lot. She’s going in the opposite direction of her house and town square, which means that they’re heading straight for Camp Chalet.

“So, Roy, what brings you along?” Winry asks curiously. “When I talked to Ed this morning, I assumed he was going to be bringing Al.”

“From what I’ve been told Al has finals. It would be wrong to distract him from his studies, even for something as important as this,” Roy says. “Besides, after some thought, who knows what sort of trouble Ed would get into unsupervised?”

Ed huffs, deciding not to bring up the fact that Roy was terrified by the sheer implication of Al throttling him if Ed was to do a mission on his own. “Speak for yourself, you bastard.”

“Ed, play nice,” Winry scolds before shaking her head. “Well, I’m glad that you’re here, Roy. We never get to see you enough these days.”

“Unfortunately, duty never stops,” Roy says with a sigh. “I’m lucky that Riza was fine with me going. Usually she tries to keep me in the office so I don’t fall behind.”

Roy and Winry’s conversation fades into the background as Ed’s thoughts drift back to the case. This one has him stumped and he’s not exactly sure where to begin. The files didn’t give away too much information and he doubts that the locals or the library are going to be much help. Even though he’s hungry and tired from the journey, he’s glad that they’re heading straight for the Camp. The sooner they investigate, the sooner they can find out what happened to Trina and everyone else who vanished.

Ed shifts so he can tuck his legs underneath of his body before he presses his forehead against the window. They’ve left Resembool’s city limits far behind them and are driving down an empty country road, passing by several different farms before they reach the edge of the woods. Winry takes a left and drives down the dirt road that leads to Camp Chalet.

While he and Al have never been to the camp, they’ve certainly heard about it over the years. In its heyday, it was a thriving sleep away camp, where children from all over the country could come and enjoy a summer away from home. However, everything changed when one of the staff members was killed in a freak electrical accident. None of the kids were hurt, but the reputation of the camp was ruined and they closed down a year later when people refused to attend.

Ed’s not sure why someone decided to purchase the camp after all these years and attempt to rebuild it. That accident only happened about fifteen years ago and most of the people who remember it probably still live in the area with their own children. There’s no way they’d be willing to send their kids to Camp Chalet after all this time.

“Ed, you alright? You’ve been quiet for a while now,” Winry says.

Ed looks away from the window and meets Winry’s gaze in the review mirror.

“I’m fine—just thinking is all,” Ed says.

“Oh . . . about Trina?” Winry asks as she turns her eyes back to the road.

“Yeah,” Ed partially lies. While he’s fine sharing information about his cases with Winry, he doesn’t want to do so about one that’s so close to home and in front of Roy. Scaring Winry would be bad enough, but he doesn’t need a lecture on top of it. “Something seems off about her disappearance, but I’ll get to the bottom of it, don’t worry. You have the best mind in all of Amestris on the case. Oh, and Roy’s here too.”

Roy snorts amused. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Anything for you, darling,” Ed says cheekily.

Winry laughs and opens her mouth to speak when something flies out of the bushes. She screams and slams on the breaks. “What the—who the hell is that?”

Ed rights himself and glares out the windshield. There’s a creepy old man sitting on a bike in the middle of the street, wearing clothes and a bike helmet that look as though they’ve seen better days. He’s glaring at them with his mismatched eyes and looks as if he’s not going to move any time soon.

Ed huffs out an annoyed breath and rolls down the back window before shouting, “Get out of the road, asshole—unless you’re trying to get hit!”

“Ed, please,” Roy says in a low whisper.

The man stares at them in silence for a solid minute and Ed is about to get out of the car and force him out of the way when he finally speaks.

“You’re all fucked,” the man declares. As soon as he’s finished speaking, he turns away from them before peddling across the street and into another set of bushes.

“What the hell just happened?” Winry asks, sounding completely off balanced.

“I’m not sure, but let’s not stick around until he comes back,” Roy says. “When you’re ready, Winry.”

Winry takes a deep breath before stepping on the gas and, thankfully, they reach the entrance to Camp Chalet without another incident.

Ed steps out of the car and stretches his sore muscles before scanning the area. At first glance it’s obvious that the camp has seen better days. Some of the buildings, such as the main camp house, have been fixed but, but other areas look as though they still need some love. He circles around the car and comes to a stop on Roy’s right.

“You think anyone’s still here?” Winry asks.

Before Ed or Roy gets the chance to say anything, someone yells, “Hello! What brings you guys—Winry? Ed?”

“Julian?” Winry calls curiously before her face lights up. “It is you! How have you been?”

“I’ve been good. Getting by,” Julian says as he comes to a stop in front of them. He looks the same as Ed remembers: a slightly tall, stocky build, light brown hair that falls into his eyes, and a smile that lights up the room. He’s even still wearing his Dad’s old class ring that he got as an heirloom when they were five. “How have you guys been? Especially you, Ed. I haven’t seen you in a minute. What’ve you been up to?”

Ed shrugs. “I’ve been busy with school,” he lies. “Finals are coming up soon, but I’m doing well enough that I don’t need to take them.”

“Good for you, Ed,” Julian says with a smile before turning his gaze to Roy. “And who’s this you got with you?”

“My partner, Roy,” Ed says, glad that Julian doesn’t seem to recognize him. National news travels much slower in the country and since he doesn’t know what’s going on with this camp yet, it’d be better if his childhood friends remained ignorant to their connection to the military. At least for now.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Roy,” Julian says.

“Likewise,” Roy says as he and Julian shake hands.

“Julian, who’s that you got over there with you?” a voice calls.

“Winry and Ed,” Julian calls back.

“Are you serious?” a second, more feminine, voice yells. “Hi guys!”

“Oh my god! Holly and Adam!” Winry exclaims.

Holly and Adam waste no time in jogging towards their position before coming to a stop on either side of Julian. Adam doesn’t appear all that much different looks wise aside from the fact that’s bulked up. He still has the same red hair, same green eyes, and same crooked smile.

As for Holly, she looks completely different than she used too: her dark brown hair has been curled and dyed blonde, she traded in her glasses for contacts, and she has a bounce in her step that was missing in her youth. Even though Ed is thrown by how much she’s changed, he doesn’t miss the sultry glance she directs towards Roy, who is completely oblivious while he talks to Adam.

Ed feels possessiveness bubble up inside of him. He causally takes a step closer to Roy and presses himself tightly against his side, smirking inwardly at Holly’s defeated look when Roy slides his arm around Ed’s waist.

“Oh good, it looks like everyone’s here,” a new voice says in greeting.

Ed turns his head in the direction that the voice came from and his eyes widen in surprise. “David Johnson?”

“In the flesh,” David says with a small laugh. He and Al were close friends in grade school until David’s family relocated to West City. “It’s so crazy seeing you here right now. How have you and Al been?”

“We’ve been good—we’re attending Central University now,” Ed says.

“Good for you both, congratulations,” David says with a smile before running a hand through his dark brown hair. “To be honest, when I called Winry and she mentioned your name, I’d thought you’d be bringing him along. Not that I’m not happy to see you and your . . .?”

“Roy, my partner,” Ed says with a smile.

David looks over Roy with a curious eye before holding out a hand to him. “David Johnson; pleased to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Roy says while shaking his hand.

David nods and lets his hand fall to his side. “While it’s been nice seeing you guys again, I wish that I could have called you here on a more joyous occasion.”

“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Ed asks.

David shakes his head. “Not much, unfortunately. After I bought the camp and chased out the local teens, Trina approached me in search of work. Because we were old friends, I told her the job was hers if she’d like it. She agreed but only after I let her check the place out to make sure it was completely secure. I dropped her off here and left her to her own devices. When I came back the next morning, she was gone.”

Roy hums in thought. “You know this sounds like a job for the local police.”

David shakes his head again. “We tried that, but they refused to do anything because of Trina’s age. Besides, I don’t want the cops to become too involved. If people find out about Trina’s disappearance, they might read too much into it and I’ll be dead before I even hit the ground. I‘ve always heard great things about this camp growing up and want to help return it to it’s former glory.”

Ed looks up at Roy and finds that he looks as suspicious as Ed feels. Something weird is differently going on here, especially with the way that David is brushing off police involvement. While Ed is the last person to ever want the authorities around, sometimes it’s the best course of action in cases such as this.

“Ed?” Holly says softly, drawing Ed’s attention to her. “Is there any way that you’d be willing to help us find Trina? We’re all really worried about her.”

“Of course I’m going to help,” Ed says. “Any specific place that we should start?”

“Probably the main camp house,” David says. “Trina told me that she was going to sleep there once she finished her search.”

“We’ll check it out, thanks,” Ed says before turning to Winry. “Are you coming with?”

Winry shakes her head. “I don’t want to get in your way. I think I’ll stay out here with Holly.”

Ed nods. “Be careful, okay.”

“You too—that goes for both of you,” Winry says, looking between Ed and Roy before she turns and walks off with Holly in tow.

Julian, Adam, and David all leave after bidding farewell to go off and do their own thing.

“What are you thinking?” Roy asks once everyone else is out of earshot.

“I’m thinking that we’re not getting the full story,” Ed says before he reluctantly pulls away from Roy’s side and heads towards the main camp house.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to wait a few more days before updating, but I just checked my calendar and realized that I had a super busy week coming up and I wanted to make sure I got this up before hand! I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> Warning: blood

When Ed reaches the front door, he cautiously opens it and (after hearing nothing unusual) steps inside. He enters what appears to be the living room and it’s pretty obvious that someone was here last night. He looks around in search of any clues that could lead him to Trina’s whereabouts and is disappointed when he finds nothing.

“Ed, come here for a sec.”

“Did you find something?” Ed asks curiously, following the sound of Roy’s voice until he ends up in the kitchen.

Roy is crouching next to the backdoor and looking down at something Ed can’t make out from his angle. He quickly joins Roy’s side and discovers that he’s investigating broken glass.

Ed kneels down next to him. “Do you think someone may have broken in?”

Roy rocks back onto his heels. “There’s a possibility, but it doesn’t look like any break in I’ve ever seen before,” he says before gesturing towards the door. “Despite the broken glass, the lock hasn’t been tampered with and the window is too small for someone normal sized to fit through.”

Ed ignores Roy’s jab at his height while he examines the lock and finds that he’s right. Other than the broken glass, everything else appears to be in working order, which means that they still have absolutely nothing to go on.

Ed huffs out an annoyed breath before rising to his feet. He walks around the room and sees nothing in particular that jumps out at him. It’s when he opens the fridge that he finds something interesting. Inside, there is a note written in paint and balanced against a pineapple that reads, “I SEE YOU.”

Ed furrows his brow and cocks his head to the side. How the hell did this get in here when there aren’t any signs of forced entry?

He hears Roy stand up and stretch before joining him at the fridge. Roy leans in close and rests his chin on Ed’s shoulder. He’s silent for a long moment as he examines the note and Ed is about to ask him if he’s okay, when he finally speaks.

“Part of me feels like we’re being played by your friends,” Roy says lowly, and Ed would have missed that entirely if they weren’t standing so close.

Ed chews on his lower lip. He won’t deny that something extra is going on here, but they don’t have any concrete evidence. “Even if they are doing something weird, we need more clues first. Plus, there’s still the fact that people unrelated to my friends have been going missing. We have to keep looking.”

Roy is silent for a moment before ultimately sighing and straightening his posture. “I know, but it doesn’t mean that I have to like it.”

Ed shuts the fridge door without a response before he and Roy leave the main camp house together, walking side by side as they examine the campgrounds with a trained eye.

He’s unsure of how long it’s been since David acquired Camp Chalet, but it doesn’t look as though he’s had much of a chance to renovate recently seeing as many of the buildings are still decrepit and run down. Hell, David hasn’t even cleaned or filled up the pool yet, which is odd, since this is supposed to be a children’s summer camp and one of the first things that kids usually like to do when on vacation is jump in the water.

He looks away from the pool and to his right before spotting Winry sitting underneath of a tree and talking animatedly with Holly. Julian is nearby working on a boat, David appears to be making a list of all the things that still need to be done, and Adam is no where to be found.

Ed furrows his brow, wondering where in the hell he could have gone, when his thoughts are interrupted by a loud, repetitive banging noise. “You hear that?”

“Yeah, it sounds like someone’s doing laundry.”

“This late? It’s almost,” Ed pauses so he can check his watch, “Eight at night. Who the fuck does laundry this late?”

“You’d be surprised,” Roy says before gesturing towards something on his left. “It seems to be coming from that shack over there.”

Ed looks in the direction that Roy was pointing to and spots the shack in question. It doesn’t seem as run down as some of the other buildings on site and there are even signs of renovation.

Roy leads the way and opens one of the glass doors before motioning Ed to enter first. Once, he steps inside, Ed immediately takes note of three things: one, there’s a backdoor to the right of the dryer; two, the dryer is running as if its life depended on it; and three, there’s a hand fork sitting ominously on top of the dryer.

“Roy, do you—”

“I see it,” Roy finishes. As soon as he takes a step towards the dryer, Ed throws an arm across his chest. “What’s wrong?”

“You have your gun on you, right?”

“I do, why? You suspect foul play?”

“I don’t know what I expect,” Ed admits with a sigh. “All I can say is that I don’t think it’s an accident that someone left a hand fork there.”

Roy turns back to the dryer with a look of suspicion before reaching behind him and pulling his gun out of his waistband. He checks over the weapon out of habit before looking back to Ed.

“You better let me take point on this one,” Roy says, shifting to hand the gun to Ed before hesitating. “Did we ever give you firearm training?”

“Not officially. Hawkeye’s been giving me lessons, but I’m better with knives,” Ed says with a shrug. “I won’t accidentally shoot you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“It wasn’t, but that’s good to know,” Roy says before handing the weapon over.

The gun feels heavy and unfamiliar in Ed’s hands. Despite Hawkeye’s guidance, their sessions are few and far between because of their schedules, and it’s not like Ed choices to use them on a regular basis. In fact, if he still had his alchemy, he wouldn’t have accepted her offer to teach him in the first place. He never did take well to firearms and probably would have forgotten that he was carrying one if he was engaged in combat.

Still, habit is a hard thing to break and he looks over the weapon with the same ease as Roy, double-checking the amount of ammo he has before clicking off the safety and pointing the weapon towards the ceiling. He turns to Roy, who is gazing at Ed with a look of approval, before nodding his head.

Roy nods back before slowly making his way towards the dryer, crouching down when he reaches it without incident. He grasps the handle before throwing open the door and the first thing that falls out of the overstuffed dryer is a bloody women’s tank top with several holes in it (including one in the chest area that looks like it’s from a fatal stab wound) along with a stained pair of shorts.

“Dammit,” Ed exclaims as he comes to the horrifying realization that Trina has most likely been murdered.

He shuffles in place and looks up at the ceiling, blinking rapidly to keep any tears from falling. Trina was a good friend of his and he desperately hoped that this case was going to have a different outcome. How the fuck is he supposed to tell Winry and Al about this now?

“Ed, are you alright?”

Ed bites down on his lower lip and bows his head. “No, I’m not,” he says before holding out the gun to Roy with the barrel pointed at the floor.

He hears Roy walk over to him to collect the gun and as soon as it’s put away, he’s wrapped in Roy’s warm embrace, with his head tucked underneath of Roy’s chin.

Ed blows out a shaky breath before sniffling. “She’s fucking dead, isn’t she?”

“We don’t have a body yet, but signs are pointing that way, yes,” Roy says, rubbing Ed’s back in a comforting manner and placing a kiss to the top of his head. “When you’re ready, I’ll get everyone back to camp house and call for backup from Eastern Command. While we wait, we can set up a perimeter and interview everyone. No one will leave until we get to the bottom of this.”

“Thank you,” Ed says in a shaky voice. He turns his head so he can press his forehead against Roy’s chest while he wills himself to calm down. He can mourn for Trina after they’ve apprehended her killer.

Ed swallows hard before pulling away from Roy and giving him a tiny smile. “I’m ready.”

Roy nods and leads the way out of laundry shack.

Ed heads straight for the main camp house while Roy gathers the others. He blows out a breath as he opens the front door before walking further into the living room and settling into one of the armchairs. He sits and stares at nothing while the others file in one by one.

Winry sits down on one of his armrests and he can spot her concerned look from the corner of his eye, but ignores her in favor of watching Roy, who is wearing one of his usual masks and looking more like the General that he is.

“Alright, Roy, what’s all this about?” David asks curiously as he sits in only other unoccupied chair and crosses his arms.

“Is everyone here?” Roy asks, disregarding David’s question as he shuts the door behind him.

“Everyone except Adam,” Holly says from her position on the couch. “He left a couple hours ago to search for Trina, but I haven’t seen him since. I hope he’s okay.”

“Wait, on his own?” David exclaims before rising to his feet. “We need to go out there and help—”

“David, sit down,” Roy says, authority dripping from his tone.

David opens his mouth to argue, but after Roy fixates a glare on him, he thinks better of it and complies.

“Good. Now, I want you all to listen to me very closely and don’t interrupt because I won’t repeat myself,” Roy says, straightening his posture and clasping his hands behind his back. “Your missing persons case has just escalated into murder; Ed and I found evidence to support this in the laundry room. This discovery, coupled with the fact that Adam is now missing, means that I’m done playing games.”

Roy turns to Ed before saying, “Get on the phone with Eastern Command. Use my name and do whatever it takes to get someone here. We don’t know if Trina’s killer in still in the area and I refuse to take any chances.”

Ed nods and wordlessly rises from his chair to go search for the phone.

“Whoa, hold up! I said no authorities,” David protests as he flies to his feet.

Ed scowls. “Don’t be a fucking moron, David. Just sit down and let the military handle this.”

“The military? How do you know they’ll—?” David cuts himself off before shaking his head in disbelief. “You guys are fucking _cops_?”

“We’re _military_ , asshole,” Ed says, feeling a headache coming on. “Major Edward Elric and General Roy Mustang, State Alchemists from Central Command.”

David’s upper lip curls. “You motherfucker, you said that you were attending university—”

“And I fucking _lied_ , okay, don’t act like you’ve never done it before,” Ed says with a shake of his head. “Trina’s case is out of your fucking league now. Regardless of Winry’s call, we would have had to come and investigate eventually. Something bigger is going on here that you have no business being involved in. So sit back down and let us fucking handle it.”

“Fuck you, Ed,” David says after a beat of silence. “You have no idea what you’ve just done to me.”

David looks between Roy and Ed before crossing the room, leaving the front door wide open as he slips out into the darkened night.

Ed bites down hard on his lower lip. He can’t believe the fucking nerve of David. Even after all he’s been told, he’d rather continue to keep his friends in danger rather than let them take care of things.

Thunder claps loudly in distance, which effectively breaks the tense silence in the room. Ed can feel Winry starting at him, but he can’t bring himself to face her. Instead, he keeps his gaze on Roy, who is now looking outside with an unreadable expression.

“What are we going to do now?” Winry asks, her voice soft and concerned.

Roy purses his lips in thought. “Ed and I need to finish searching the area. We had only just got started when we discovered Trina’s clothes and brought everyone here.”

“But, you didn’t find a body?” Winry asks hopefully.

“You didn’t see how much blood there was,” Ed says quietly before shaking his head. “Roy’s right. We need to finish searching the area before any evidence is washed away or damaged by the storm.”

“And the rest of us?” Julian asks.

“Wait here in case Adam comes back. He’ll need to be brought up to speed,” Roy says.

“And what about David?” Holly asks.

“I have a feeling that David won’t be coming back,” Ed says before clenching his left hand into a fist. “At least, he won’t be after I’m done with him.”

“Ed,” Winry starts.

“Don’t Winry—that asshole needs to be taught a lesson and you know it,” Ed says before crossing the room and pausing in the doorway.

The sky is pitch black and the wind is beginning to pick up. There’s a storm coming all right and based on what he sees, it’s going to be on them soon. It’ll be dangerous for Roy to use his alchemy in these conditions so he’s glad that Roy brought along his gun.

Speaking of.

“Are you coming?” Ed asks Roy without turning around.

Roy snorts. “Do you even have to ask?”

Ed wordlessly nods his confirmation before sucking in a breath and stepping outside.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been so excited about my decision to turn this one-off into a full blown series (and I'm not surprised this happened because I always do things like this lol) that I've stayed up the past few nights editing because I couldn't sleep lol. I hope you guys enjoy! :D
> 
> Warning: brief gore, death, and implied PTSD

The wind whips dangerously around them as Ed and Roy make their way across the campgrounds in search of any evidence that could aid them in finding Trina’s killer as well as locating her body.

“Ed, look over there,” Roy says, practically shouting to be heard over the howling wind. “There’s a light on in the laundry room.”

Ed turns to look and sure enough, there is. “Do you think it could be David?”

“Either that or Trina’s killer,” Roy says before shaking his head in frustration. “I don’t like this, but we have to find out who’s in there.”

Ed nods even though Roy isn’t looking in his direction. He follows Roy towards the laundry shack and when they enter, he’s completely thrown by what he sees.

Lying in the center of the room is none other than Trina Marsh. She’s naked as the day she was born and her skin is dull and lifeless. She’s unresponsive and covered in stab wounds, with the killing blow represented by a hole through her heart.

Ed clenches his hand into a fist, feeling unrestrained anger and despair flowing through him. “That fucking _bastard_ didn’t even bother to cover her up,” he says through gritted teeth. He forces himself to tear his eyes away from Trina’s corpse and look at Roy, who looks torn between wanting to comfort Ed and catch the son of a bitch who did this. “I’ll be fine. Roy, we gotta catch this guy now.”

Roy nods and opens his mouth but before he gets the chance to speak, the door on the opposite end of the room flies open. A large man wearing a dark blue jumpsuit and sack hood is standing in the doorway, wielding a large machete.

Ed is unable to process what’s happening before Roy grabs his arm and yanks him out of the room. They run out of the laundry shack and into the night with the killer hot on their heels. Once they get out into the open, Roy whirls around, shoving Ed behind him and pulling out his gun in the same motion, flicking off the safety and taking aim.

Ed is a bit miffed at being manhandled, but it’s not like he’s going to argue with Roy right now, especially with what’s at stake. There are at least four possible outcomes to this encounter and Ed only likes one of them.

“Stay where you are, or I will shoot,” Roy warns.

The killer doesn’t listen and begins advancing on their position.

Roy fires two warning shots in rapid succession at the killer’s feet, which causes them to stumble backwards as if they’re surprised. “I said: stay the fuck back. Now, drop your weapon and place your hands in the air.”

When the killer ignores Roy’s demands again, he shifts so that the gun is aiming directly at the killer’s heart. Roy blows out a breath, his finger on the trigger, and he’s about to pull it to end this nightmare when—

“No, Roy! Don’t shoot—please!”

“Winry, what the hell are you doing?” Ed yells, looking around until he finds Winry, Holly, and Julian running towards them. “This asshole murdered Trina and is going to come after us next!”

“No, Ed, look again,” Winry says while lifting her arm and pointing at something behind him.

Ed turns his head and looks around Roy at the same time as the killer drops his machete. The sack hood is removed and reveals a horrified David standing before them. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Adam and _a very much alive_ Trina emerge from behind a tree near the laundry shack.

A tense silence falls over the camp and Ed is so pissed off that he sees red. “Somebody better explain what the fuck is going on right now.”

“I can,” David says meekly. “But, only if your partner puts down his weapon.”

“I think I’ll keep it out, thanks,” Roy says harshly.

David seems to accept this (if the guilty look that appears on his face is anything to go by). “Let me explain: when I first bought Camp Chalet, I never intended to reopen it as a children’s summer camp. No, I envisioned opening it as a murder mystery camp where every other week, eight to ten people pay to have the daylights scared out of them. In order to make sure that the camp would end up being a success and not a wasted investment, I needed to do a dry run to make sure that everything would be believable. So, I got in touch with Winry to see if she knew anybody.”

“Ed, I’m so sorry. I was only given vague information over the phone and now, I wish I never would have mentioned your name,” Winry says, sounding genuinely apologetic. “And Roy, I regret that you had to get dragged into all of this too.”

Winry didn’t have to apologize since Ed already knows that she wouldn’t intentionally be involved in something like this, but still, he appreciates it and knows that Roy does too.

“You’re fine, Winry. It’s not like you could have known,” he says before fixing a glare on David. “You don’t expect friends to fuck you over like this.”

“Okay, I deserved that,” David says with a wince before he looks at Roy. “I mean, no disrespect R—General Mustang, but you weren’t supposed to be here. There is a reason why I said no authorities, after all. I truly am sorry for inconveniencing you in any way.”

Roy hesitates before lowering his gun. “Thank you,” he says while flicking on the safety and placing the weapon back in his waistband.

“I have to say, Ed, I am a bit surprised that you didn’t figure all this out sooner,” David says, making sure to stay a respectable distance away.

Ed frowns. “We had our suspicions, but didn’t have enough evidence to back them up. Besides, it’s not like I was able to properly focus on the case while I was under the impression that one of my friends was fucking dead.”

Trina winces and looks down at the ground, ashamed.

Thunder claps in that moment, and the sudden sound causes everyone to look up at the sky.

“The storm is almost here, everyone get inside,” Winry shouts over the wind.

Ed chews on the inside of his cheek. He was lucky that he was able to hold back a flinch at the thunder overhead, but he doesn’t know how much longer he can keep his rising panic at bay.

He and storms haven’t gotten along since he and Al tried performing Human Transmutation. Now, instead of looking at them in awe through his window like he did when he was a kid, he listens to them in a panic from under his covers until Roy is in his vicinity. So far, he’s the only thing that chases away the nightmares and Ed is so fucking thankful that he convinced Roy to come along with him.

Ed reaches out and grabs Roy’s hand before threading their fingers together. Roy squeezes his hand twice, which brings a small smile to Ed’s face. That’s their silent code for: _“I’m here, and I won’t let anything hurt you.”_

With Roy at his side, Ed turns and follows Winry back towards the main camp house. They’re nearly at the front porch when Trina screams from somewhere behind them.

“Holy shit—is that our fucking janitor?”

Ed looks around wildly until he spots an unmoving prone figure sticking out from underneath of the bushes. The person looks familiar, and it takes a moment before it clicks in Ed’s mind: this is the same old man that Winry nearly ran over when they first arrived.

“Wait, Erwin?” Julian exclaims. “He’s a sweetheart. Who would want to kill him?”

“Everyone inside, right now,” Roy says authoritatively.

No arguments arise and everyone rushes inside. Once the front door is locked, Ed reluctantly releases Roy’s hand so they can do a quick sweep of the house, which reveals nothing unusual. They converge back in the living room and sit together on an unoccupied chair, Ed taking the arm while Roy settles on the actual cushion.

“Did you find anything?” Winry asks.

Roy shakes his head. “The house is clear, but you all should remain on guard. I’m going to make a quick call to Eastern Command and request for backup. Everyone stay here until I return.” He moves to stand, but hesitates and turns to Ed before saying in a lowered tone, “Will you be alright for a few minutes?”

Ed nods. “I’ll be fine, just don’t take all day.”

Roy nods and pats Ed’s knee before he stands up and leaves the room in search of a phone.

Ed gracefully occupies Roy’s seat and kicks his legs up and over the armrest. Thunder claps and the familiar sound of pouring rain reaches his ears. Ed can feel everyone staring at him and it only serves to further piss him off.

“Will you all just fucking say what’s on your mind already?” Ed says out of frustration, barely managing to remember to use his “inside voice” since he knows that Roy is probably on the phone by now.

The room remains silent for a beat before Trina speaks up.

“Ed, I want to apologize on behalf of everyone,” Trina says, wringing her hands together nervously. “It was never meant to go this far and I hope that you and Roy can find it in your hearts to forgive us.”

Ed hesitates. An apology coming from Trina is different than the one that came from David for two reasons: one, aside from Winry, Ed’s known Trina the longest. He knows that Trina has a good head on her shoulders and like Winry, wouldn’t willingly participate in something that would cause any sort of harm to others. And two, she’s not a douchebag. Ed is glad that Al didn’t come with him now because he would have been crushed to see his old childhood friend orchestrating something as underhanded as this.

“Thank you, Trina. I appreciate the apology,” Ed says.

Trina gives him a small smile before she turns to Winry to start a conversation. The rest of the group slowly follows her example and soon the room is filled with talking and laughter.

Ed slides further down in his seat and tries to focus on their voices, but the sounds of the storm drown them out. He blinks and clenches his hand into a fist as he struggles against the memories of his past that try to work their way to the forefront of his mind. He doesn’t have time to be left paralyzed by his thoughts. There’s a fucking killer on the loose and he’ll be of no use to anyone if he’s trapped inside of his head.

“Backup’s on its way,” Roy announces as he walks back into the living room, unknowingly chasing away Ed’s dark thoughts with his presence. “I’m not sure how long they’ll be delayed by the storm, but they should be here within a few hours.”

Winry blows out a relieved breath and Holly claps her hands together in excitement.

“All right, well, in the meantime, I’m gonna go shower,” Trina says as she rises to her feet. “I was hiding in Adam’s cabin for the past day and the windows refused to budge. I have a layer of sweat on me that would put construction workers to shame. I’ll see you guys in a bit.” She waves to the group before heading upstairs.

“While she’s doing that, I say the rest of us should play a round of bullshit,” Adam says while brandishing a deck of cards. “Who’s in?”

“Not me—I guarantee I’ll lose every round,” Julian says before standing up and stretching. “I’ll be on the computer in the office if you need me.”

Adam shrugs. “Suit yourself.”

“You wanna play, Ed?” Holly asks curiously as she slides off the couch to sit on the floor next to Winry.

Ed shakes his head. “Maybe the next round. I need to talk to my guy, first,” he says before rising to his feet and meeting Roy’s confused gaze. He jerks his head to the side as a signal so they can talk privately and thankfully Roy gets the hint. Ed follows him into the kitchen before crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

“Everything okay, love? Is the storm bothering you?” Roy whispers.

“Yes, but I’ll be alright,” Ed whispers back, shifting his weight under Roy’s gaze. “I wanna take a proper look at Erwin’s body. Something doesn’t feel right.”

Roy nods. “Alright,” he says, looking at Ed with concern written on his face. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

“I will be just,” Ed hesitates. “Just don’t go too far.”

“I won’t leave your side,” Roy promises.

Ed gives him a small smile before leading the way out of the kitchen.

“Where are you guys going?” Winry asks.

“We’re gonna go check out something real quick,” Ed says, pausing at the front door so he can meet Winry’s gaze. “You stay here and keep an eye on everyone. Holler if you need us.”

“Can do, “ Winry says before turning back to her cards.

Ed sucks in a breath and opens the front door. He steps outside and is immediately drenched in the downpour. He wipes at his eyes and fumbles behind him until he finds Roy’s hand and laces their fingers together. Roy gives his fingers a comforting squeeze before they set out.

It takes them a while to relocate Erwin’s body, since they can barely see anything in this rain and their only light source is coming from the front porch. They didn’t find any flashlights when they were clearing out the house earlier and Roy’s alchemy is useless in this weather.

“Roy, do you have an extra pair of gloves?” Ed asks at the same time that the wind picks up.

“What? You want to make love?” Roy shouts.

“No, you idiot! Gloves!”

“Why would you need a pug? We’re in the middle of the woods.”

“No!” Ed lets go of Roy’s hand and points at his bare fingers.

“Oh! Are your hands cold? I have an extra pair of gloves,” Roy says before digging through his pockets and producing a set of gloves.

Ed resists the urge to face palm before taking the gloves and slipping them over his fingers. He kneels down next to Erwin’s body and begins his examination, though it’s hard to make out any significant details in this lighting. Ed apologizes to Erwin under his breath before he carefully runs his hands over Erwin’s face and finds nothing. However, when he moves on to examining Erwin’s neck, he finds something weird.

“Roy, check this out,” Ed says before flicking his soaked hair out of his eyes.

When Roy kneels down next to him, Ed takes his hand and places it on Erwin’s neck.

“What the hell?” Roy says as he runs his finger over the small indent just above Erwin’s pulse point.

“Weird right? Do you think the killer could have made this mark?”

“It’s possible though this obviously wasn’t what killed him—it’s too small,” Roy says. He removes his fingers from Erwin’s neck and leans back onto his heels. “The only thing I can think of is that the killer must have been wearing a ring or something and grabbed Erwin by his neck . . .”

Roy continues speaking, but Ed doesn’t hear him over the sound of his own epiphany.

“Roy, shut up for a second,” Ed says before turning to face him. “I know who the killer is.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! Thank you SO much to everyone who's left comments and kudos! You guys are my motivation and I hope you all enjoy! :D 
> 
> Warning: none

Roy looks at him expectantly and Ed opens his mouth to respond, but he’s cut off by a lightning strike and a scream.

Ed quickly looks around and sees the power from the main house flickering before it cuts and plunges them into total darkness.

“Shit—Roy, we have to go now!” Ed flies to his feet, carefully stepping around Erwin’s body, before sprinting back to the house.

“Ed, wait for me,” Roy shouts over the storm.

“No time! We have to hurry—we left the killer in there with the others!” Ed yells back without stopping.

“What?”

“It’s Julian, Roy! He’s the one who killed Erwin!”

“Are you sure?” Roy asks sounding much closer than earlier.

“Not entirely, but out of everyone he’s the only one wearing a ring that could have left that kind of indentation.”

Roy swears under his breath. “Let’s hope that we’re not too late.”

Ed silently agrees with him as he places his hands in front of himself, fumbling for a minute until he is able to locate the stair rail. He climbs up the steps, taking care so he doesn’t slip, until he reaches the top of the landing. He all but bursts through the front door and squints against the bright light that shines in his face.

“Ed, Roy, thank heaven you guys are okay,” Winry says before she lowers the flashlight in her hand.

Ed almost wants to ask her where in the hell she managed to find that, but there are more important matters to attend to. “Where is everyone?”

“Trina is still in the shower and Adam went to check the breakers,” David says before his expression changes to one of concern. “Are you two okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

“Where’s Julian?” Ed asks.

“He should still be in the office. Why?” Holly says.

Ed leaves the living room before Holly finishes speaking. He reaches the office and throws open the doors, only to discover that the room is unoccupied. Ed swears under his breath and returns to the living room.

“No luck?” Roy asks, and Ed shakes his head in response.

“What’s going on? Why are you looking for Julian?” Winry asks, looking between Roy and Ed with confusion written on her face.

“He killed Erwin, Winry,” Ed says gently after a brief moment of hesitation.

Winry’s eyes widen. “What? That’s impossible. He—”

“We found an indentation on Erwin’s neck,” Ed says. He can hear Roy quietly tut under his breath because he’s revealing too much, but telling her is the only way to stop her from freaking out. “It looks like it came from a ring and Julian—”

“Is the only one of us who regularly wears a ring and could have left such a mark,” David finishes before running a hand through his hair. “Fucking hell; this is all my fault.”

Ed scowls. Even though he’s still pissed at David, he hates seeing people blame themselves for things they can’t control. “Don’t be stupid, David. You couldn’t have known.”

“No, but I should have. I should have done a more extensive background check on everyone. I thought that because I used to know them that they would be clean but—” David cuts himself off and shakes his head before gesturing in Ed’s direction. “You’re the one who said it best: you don’t expect friends to fuck you over.”

Ed bites down on his lower lip, not expecting his words to be thrown back at him like this. He thinks over what he wants to say back but before he can do anything, Roy starts talking.

“Now, that everyone’s caught up, we need to find Adam and Trina and get the hell out of here before—”

Roy’s cut off by the back door flying open and Julian walking in. He’s dressed in the same sack hood and blue jumpsuit that David wore earlier. He’s also brandishing a machete that looks sharpened to perfection.

“Run!” David yells before everyone rushes out the door and into the stormy night.

The pouring rain once again drenches Ed as he sprints away from the main camp house with Roy and David on either side of him. He spares a glance behind him and is relieved to see that Julian isn’t following them. Ed turns back around and scans the area, thinking that maybe they can lock themselves in the laundry shack and figure out what to do next when a panicked scream cuts through his thoughts.

“Shit, that was Winry! Roy, can you—,” Ed yells.

“I’m on it,” Roy says. He pulls out his gun and cocks it before turning around and sprinting back the way that they just came.

“Do you think Julian got them?” David asks.

“I hope not,” Ed says. He turns to glance behind them again and swears when he sees that Julian is hot on their trail instead. He must have been hiding somewhere and waiting for Roy to leave since he poses the biggest threat. Fucking hell.

Ed quickly scans the area. He knows that this is probably going to end in a fight and he needs an area that’s open enough to move around in but also has the potential to brandish some sort of weapon. He’s running out of options when he spots the abandoned pool out of the corner of his eye. Not ideal, but it’s the best he’s got.

Ed grabs onto David’s shirt and yanks him in the direction of the pool, aware of Julian after them every step of the way. They burst through the broken gate and run around the edge of the pool. The dim light coming from the fixture above the pool house lights their way as they scan the area for weapons and panic when they find none.

Julian slows to a walk and approaches them, his head cocked to the side while he swings his machete to an unheard beat.

“Julian, why the hell are you doing this?” David shouts over the storm. “I thought we were friends.”

Julian stops and stands in silence for a solid minute before he reaches up with his freehand and pulls off the sack hood. He has a murderous look in his eye and a crazed smile on his face.

“You thought wrong,” Julian says before tossing the hood aside. “See, years ago, a staff member was murdered here and their death was spun as a freak electrical accident.” He pauses. “That person was my sister. And the fact that you want to make a mockery of her death with your little “murder mystery camp” is absolutely disgusting. People here may be quick to forget what happened, but I’m not one of them, and I won’t let you get away with this.”

“Julian I—I’m so sorry, I had no idea that this had happened to you and your family,” David says, sounding genuine. “I’ve been in West City for the past thirteen years. I didn’t know that any new details had come to light.”

Julian clicks his tongue and shakes his head as if he’s disappointed. “Shoulda done your research, Davey.”

David sucks in a deep breath and takes a few steps back. If Ed doesn’t think of something quick, then they might both die here tonight.

“What about the other people who went missing from here and Erwin, huh? Was that your doing too?” Ed shouts over the storm, which is picking back up again.

Julian cocks his head to the side. “Oh them? They were just practice for my real target,” he says before advancing on their position.

Ed quickly pulls David behind him, a move that causes Julian to falter in his stride.

“Ed,” Julian says, sounding disappointed. “I don’t want to hurt you, but if you don’t get out of my way, then you’ll have to force my hand.”

Ed snorts and stands his ground. “Fat fucking chance I’m doing that.”

Julian shrugs. “Suit yourself. I won’t mind giving you back to Roy in pieces,” he says before rushing their position.

Ed swears. He reaches back, grabs David’s shirt, and yanks him out of the way, before ducking and rolling away from Julian’s machete.

“David run! Go find Roy!” Ed shouts before dodging another strike.

“What about you?” David yells.

“I’ll be fine, just go,” Ed shouts, relieved when David picks himself up without another word and runs away without looking back.

“Don’t think you’re getting away from me that easily,” Julian says, turning away from Ed to go after David.

Ed uses that opportunity to run and jump onto Julian’s back, knocking the machete out of his grip with his automail foot before trapping him in a classic chokehold. Julian lets out a low growl and struggles to get free, swinging his arms around while trying to punch Ed in the head.

Roy was right when he said back in Central that Ed has probably faced down much worse before, considering how easy it is to hang on to Julian (despite the fact that he’s weighed down by his wet clothes) until David returns with Roy in tow.

Ed grunts as Julian manages to land a punch to his head. “Roy! Take the shot!”

“I don’t have it!”

“Just do it!”

Roy lets out a noise of frustration before he fires. The bullet connects with Julian’s shin, which causes him to lose his balance. Ed and Julian fall to the ground in a crumbled heap and Ed wastes no time in scrambling off him. He quickly kicks away the discarded machete before all but sprinting back to Roy’s side where he belongs.

“Move and the next one goes between your eyes,” Roy says when Julian tries to get up.

Julian hesitates before laying back down on the ground, knowing that he’s been defeated.

Thunder and lightning fade into the distance as the wind slows to a complete stop. The storm clouds break and moonlight shines down on the camp for the first time all night. Ed blows out a breath and looks up to the sky, gazing at the hundreds of stars above them. He’s relieved that this nightmare is finally over, but now that it’s quiet, he’s able to pick up on the faint sound of sirens approaching in the distance.

“Roy?” Ed asks.

Roy grunts in acknowledgement, not taking his eyes or gun off Julian.

“I thought you said you called Eastern Command for backup.”

“I did.”

Ed furrows his brow. “Then, why do I hear police sirens?”

“Boss, Chief!”

“Havoc?” Ed questions. He turns to look behind him only to find Havoc, Breda, Winry, and Holly running towards them along with two Resembool police officers. The officers continue past them and towards Julian while the others stop nearby and catch their breath. “What are you two doing here? Mustang only called for backup less than an hour ago, there’s no way you two could have gotten here this fast.”

“Actually, the Lieutenant sent us,” Havoc says sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck. “She was worried about you guys once she reviewed the details to your case and had us follow you.”

Roy shifts and turns to look back at them with a scowl on his face. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“I know that, sir, but it’s a good thing that she did,” Havoc says. “When we arrived the road here was blocked by a fallen tree. We had to go seek help from the local authorities hence why they’re here.”

Roy sighs. He puts away his gun and straightens his posture before turning to face them. “Excellent work. Remind me to thank the Lieutenant when we get back to Central.”

Havoc grins. “You got it, Chief.”

Julian is forced to his feet and escorted away by the officers. Ed watches while he’s placed into the back of a squad car and driven from the scene. He turns to look at Roy, who is regarding him with a curious look.

“I’m fine, but we’re still down two people,” Ed says. “We need to find Trina and Adam.”

“I’m afraid that I have the answer for you,” a woman says. She comes to a stop next to Roy and holds out her hand. “Chief Inspector Amelia Thomas, Resembool Division.”

“General Roy Mustang, pleasure,” Roy says before shaking her hand.

Chief Inspector Thomas nods once before she clasps her hands together in front of her. “After a quick search of the scene, we have discovered two bodies. One was in the shower and the other was in an outdoor breaker room. Unfortunately, both victims are deceased.”

Holly covers her mouth in shock while David’s expression tightens before he lowers his head.

Ed clenches his hand into a fist and squeezes his eyes shut in an attempt to hold back tears. He opens his eyes after counting to ten and turns to Winry, who looks as if her entire world just fell apart. Ed starts to reach for her when she seems to snap back into reality.

“Oh god, Trina,” Winry exclaims before she collapses to the ground in tears.

Ed gulps before kneeling down next to her. As soon as he places a hand on her shoulder, Winry turns and flings herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. Ed curls his arms around her back before resting his chin on the top of her head.

“There’s a third victim as well. We’ll need to close off the area and get forensics in here, stat,” Roy says to Chief Inspector Thomas before turning to Havoc and Breda. “As for you two, we still have several people that have gone missing from this area. I need you to—”

“They’re dead, Mustang,” Ed says, unsurprised when several pairs of eyes turn to look at him both questioning and suspiciously. “Julian said so himself. Said they were a practice run for David, who was the real target. He says his sister’s murder was covered up and hated David for trying to turn this place into a murder mystery camp.”

Chief Inspector Thomas narrows her eyes. “That information wasn’t supposed to be public knowledge. How the hell—?” she cuts herself off and shakes her head in frustration.

“We need to set up a perimeter,” Roy says. “I’ll speak with the military present and see to it that they listen to your command.”

“Thank you, General,” Chief Inspector Thomas says with a nod before turning on her heel and heading back to the scene.

Roy turns to Havoc and Breda. “You two, with me.”

“Sir!”

Roy gives Ed an apologetic look before walking away with Havoc and Breda in tow.

As soon as they’re gone, David and Holly rush over and kneel down next to them. Holly places a hand on Winry’s back while David regards Ed with a curious look. He looks as if he’s holding back from saying something and it only serves to make Ed mad.

“Spit it out, David,” Ed says.

“Roy, he’s your boss, isn’t he?” David inquires in a hushed tone.

Ed makes sure he’s careful not to tense his body so he doesn’t startle Winry. “Yeah, what of it? You gonna tell on us?”

David looks horrified and quickly shakes his head. “Of course not! You two saved my life in spite of everything. I know you have your own reasons for keeping your relationship a secret and promise not to tell anyone.”

Ed looks to Holly, who nods her confirmation. Even though what David did was pretty horrible, he’s not a bad guy. Al wouldn’t have been his friend, even as a kid, if he had felt any sort of indication that David was a piece of shit.

Winry raises her head and pulls away from Ed before wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’m okay,” she says before sniffling and offering them a broken smile. “What are you guys going to do now?”

“After tonight, I’m going to abandon trying to rebuild,” David says. “Instead, I’m going to create a memorial to honor all of the victims and work to make sure that no harm comes to any more of the kids in the area.”

“And I’m going to help,” Holly says, raising an eyebrow at David when he turns to look at her curiously. “What? Did you really think I was going to let you do it alone.”

David sighs and Holly smiles because she knows that she won.

Ed looks between the two of them and nods once. “Good luck with everything, guys.”

“Same to you,” David says before rising to his feet. “Take care of Winry and that boy of yours.”

“I will.”

David offers him a smile before helping Holly to her feet. Ed watches them walk to a nearby car, which David unlocks, before they climb in and drive away.

Ed turns to Winry and nudges her gently. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Winry nods wordlessly.

Ed rises to his feet before helping her stand and allowing her to lean her weight against him. He curls an arm around her back and they slowly exit the pool area. He scans the campground before spotting Roy, Havoc, and Breda standing around the car that Winry initially drove them here in.

Once they reach the car, Winry moves away from his side and climbs into the backseat without a word. Ed looks after her, concerned, before turning to Roy, who is regarding him with his usual masked expression, though he can make out the worry in his eyes.

“Is she going to be okay?” Roy asks.

Ed nods. “She will be; she just needs some time.”

“Are _you_ going to be okay?”

“Until the adrenaline wears off, yeah,” Ed admits.

Roy raises an eyebrow and Ed shakes his head, not wanting to elaborate any further. Thankfully, Roy gets the hint and opens the door without another word, allowing Ed to slide in first before climbing in after him and shutting the door.

Once they’re settled, Havoc looks at Ed through the rearview mirror. “Where to, Boss?”

Ed turns to look at Winry. She’s sitting next to him silently, her head bowed and hands clenched together in her lap. Her hair is covering her face and her shoulders are shaking as if she might start crying again at any minute. Even though Ed wants to return to Central and curl up in his own bed with Roy, he doesn’t want to leave Winry alone when she’s like this.

He looks over at Roy, who smiles and nods his approval. “The Rockbell’s,” Ed says to Havoc before turning to address Winry. “Granny won’t mind us all staying for a few days, will she?”

Winry looks up at him then and her responding smile lights up the entire car.


End file.
